Leadership

According to Hoffman, the one thing you don’t learn as a student is to leave the beaten path. How do you be the entrepreneur of your own life? This opening to his interview is quite puzzling, especially with Hoffman’s Oxford education. Surely he is well aware the writings of beloved essayist Ralf Waldo Emerson who penned the famous Self Reliance essay . Emerson clearly admonishes the reader to go off the beaten path. Listen to their heart. Owe a debt to no man and become self-reliant so they can be free of their own thought and convictions. He mentioned questioning himself during his younger years of “How can I get into Stanford?” or “How can I get…

The purpose of the London Leaders programme is to demonstrate the power of leadership, collaboration and innovation in tackling the sustainability challenges inherent in global cities such as London. London Leadership Personified By Mark Woodcock of BigFoot Digital According to Mark Woodcock, Managing Director of BigFoot Digital in London, “Community, connectivity, networking and more – everything a business needs to succeed can be found right in London. While London offers plenty of opportunities to grow your business, it’s also brimming with competitors all looking to generate profit.” There is a strong movement in purchasing not just products, but services online locally due to the heavy stress of the traffic congestion…

Lee Kuan Yew – “The Impossible Can Happen!” Lee Kuan Yew was the first and longest-serving Prime Minister of Singapore. It was his leadership that transformed Singapore from a third world country into a thriving metropolitan city in just three decades. In a press conference, referring to the airline pilot strike of  Singapore Air, he said, “I have spent a lifetime building this (referring to the city of Singapore), and as long as I am in charge, no one is going to knock it down.” He was the leader Singapore needed, and it took him a mere 65 minutes to end the strike. A Short Biography of Lee Kuan Yew…

Three-time World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali is considered one of the world’s greatest boxers. His professional record of 56 wins and five losses is unprecedented. After retirement, he traveled the world as an ambassador of peace and championed social causes like ending poverty and discrimination. A Short Biography Muhammad Ali was born “Cassius Clay” on January 17th, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. At age 12, Cassius was discovered by a boxing coach. He trained under various coaches as an amateur boxer and had a fantastic record of 100 wins to 5 losses. He became a professional boxer after winning the Summer Olympics gold medal in 1960. He took the name Muhammad…

Damien Trevatt – The Man Behind Ungagged “Take risks, make mistakes, learn from both, but most importantly, don’t look back, just keep going.” – Damien Trevatt In an age with a never-ending supply of advice givers, Trevatt walked the walk as he took a huge risk in the Fall of 2014, creating what was then labeled, “The Un-Conference.” Trevatt saw a problem in the digital marketing space. Current conferences were stagnant. Speakers shared very little real information as the conferences were often recorded or live streamed. Presentations became generic and the “nuggets of information” to help online business owners and consultants were few and far between. He foresaw a conference…

In the fall of 2017, Tim Ash , CEO of Site Tuners , was the keynote speaker for the digital marketing conference  Ungagged . Typically, keynotes at conferences like this are described as stand-offish, snooty, and unapproachable. Those keynote speakers who claim that they are “approachable” will excuse themselves from conversations with conference attendees as if they are a surgeon rushing to the OR. And then there is Tim Ash. We observed for well over an hour Ash spent time with two attendees discussing everything from their respective online businesses, politics, and how to improve human relations. It was apparent Ash is well read, astute, and genuine. His respect toward the female attendees was also observed,…

Update: Peter Sutherland dies at 71. Chairman of Goldman Sachs and former head of the World Trade Organisation Peter Sutherland is to co-chair a new international group to boost global trade. The experts’ group has been created following talks between the UK and Germany and was announced over the weekend by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “Trade is the engine of global growth. That is why we have put boosting trade and tackling trade barriers high on our governments’ agendas and want to see a strong political commitment to liberalizing trade at the Seoul G20 summit,” the leaders said in a statement. Open markets and free trade should be at the heart…

José Mourinho is regarded among many as one of the greatest coaches in soccer (football) history, and he is the current manager of Manchester United. In his 10-year managerial career, he has helmed top football clubs such as Porto, Real Madrid, and Chelsea. A Short Biography José Mourinho was born in Portugal on January 26th, 1963. From a young age, his mother encouraged him to aim for success in all his endeavors. His father was a professional goalkeeper and perhaps because of this Mourinho always had a keen interest in football. When his father moved on to coaching, Mourinho followed his lead and began to study opposing teams and game…

David Ogilvy is considered “The Grandfather of Modern Advertising.” His style is often copied but never to the actual greatness that was Ogilvy. He learned his leadership qualities from good old-fashioned hard work and unrelenting determination. Lesson One: Perfection At All Costs When Ogilvy left Oxford, he took a job in one of France’s top kitchens, at the Majestic Hotel. David’s wife, Herta, recalls that is where David learned the importance of perfection, and what drove him to become a perfectionist. “Everything that left that kitchen to go out had to be perfect. The way the plate looked, the presentation, the taste, everything.” Along with hard work, excellence, discipline, Ogilvy…